Bab 51: Chapter 51: A Cage Full Of Jesters

(before chapter 50)

When I reached my room, light streamed through a crack in the door. I pushed the door aside and found my three maids kneeling before me, a suitcase perched on my bed. Suddenly I felt like a foreign body in a thread of betrayal and control. "What are you all doing here?", I asked in confusion, closing the door to the corridor. "We were given an order Miss to pack your belongings," Nathaly replied, looking as if she was afraid I might chastise her. "Who gave you the order?", I wanted to know further and stepped closer into the room. My pictures, which I had brought from home, were carefully stacked on the floor. Mandy was wrapping them in silk scarves. Everyone around me was silent and continued to clean out my room. I repeated my request and was again hushed in response. I then became angry and slammed the ends of the suitcases together, "Who gave that order?" Ally looked at the other two maids and finally cleared her throat uncertainly, "It was the Crown Prince. He wants you to leave the palace." Something inside me burst at that moment and I sank to the floor. Everything was spinning both in my body and before my eyes. After all, he had told me that he loved me, so why would he send me away and not even give me a warning. Did he just want to get me into bed one more time and then drop me. "What?", I breathed tonelessly. I felt betrayed and my heart broke in two. "He sent you a letter, Miss," Nathaly handed me a yellowish envelope. In my trembling fingers now rested the words that would be the last I would exchange with the prince. My hands cramped more with each line and curled the paper. In the end it had the texture of a stone.

"My dearest Belle, I write these lines to you, knowing what it will do to both of us. I have come to the conclusion, with the deepest regret, that I cannot make you my consort. It is much more than the pride of my family that prevents me from spending the rest of my days with you. I fear for you, that you will become a target in this ridiculous war. I could never forgive myself for that. I don't want you to end up like so many other women within these palace walls. I hope one day you'll forgive me for making what was probably the worst mistake of my life by sending you away. -Love yours, Nicolas."

I swallowed my tears and stood up, "I'm leaving and I'm leaving today. I don't want anything more to do with this family." Half-heartedly, I stuffed my belongings into the suitcase. It was black and the emblem of the royal family was burnt into it. Because of its texture, I guessed it was leather. "Belle, won't you sleep in this room one more night?" I ignored my eldest chambermaid and continued packing. I wasn't wanted and that was the way it was going to stay, I was through with this family. My mind was already all corrupted in this cage of fools, I had not been myself for a long time. "Do you know where I can find the servants' quarters?", I asked. "I don't understand, my lady?", Nathaly's eyes looked at me in confusion, her red hair shining in the brightness of the chandelier. I put on a plain black knee-length dress. It had a white puff collar, with a button sewn on at the neck. The dividing seams, which started from the shoulder, made my figure appear longer and slimmer. The length was slightly flared at the bottom, creating sleek creases as I walked. Together with a 1920s hat, my ensemble was complete. "I would like to speak to Lady Holly and then go to the servants' quarters, could you arrange this for me?" Three deep, humble curtsies followed my request. Holly's room had been moved down a floor because of water damage on her side of the corridor. One day, she told me, she dreamt that she was walking in a rainforest and it suddenly started to drizzle. With fluttering eyelids, she realised that it was raining through the ceiling. The parquet floor and the fluffy carpet were already soaked. I waited a while before the door opened and my best friend stood in the room. Of course, she asked me what was wrong. I explained the situation to her, that I decided to leave today. "I don't understand why the prince suddenly sends you away, especially with a ridiculous letter," in her hands was the farewell letter. Which in this case could really be called a deportation. I squinted my eyes, not wanting to cry. "I feel so shabby Holly, after all this time, I'm not worthy of him telling me in person that he's kicking me out." We were each sitting in an armchair with a small side table between us. On it were dried up cut flowers, in a glass vase. "Promise me one thing Holly?" my voice trembled, I couldn't look her in the eye. Her gaze rested on me, I could feel it without even looking at her. "If you have feelings for the prince, don't make it about what happened between him and me." I lifted my chin and waited for her reaction. She looked frozen. Before I could become suspicious, she put her hand on my left knee and promised me exactly the words I wanted to hear from her.

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